'New' clothes for the community

Teens to host their first free thrift store on Feb. 23 in Minooka

Morgan Moreno and Alaina Frazier love shopping at thrift stores, and they love following thrift shoppers on YouTube.

But thrift shopping, even when purchasing only a few items, still takes money.

Why not, they reasoned, let others share their job, for free.

On Feb. 23, Moreno, 16 (left) and Frazier, 15, will host a Pop-Up Thrift Store at the new parish center at St. Mary's Church in Minooka.

The thrift store will offer free clothing for people of all ages, boys and girls, men and women.

The first 70 youth who attend the event will receive a free scoop of ice cream from McDonald's, they said.

Moreno and Frazier will be accepting donations for the Chanooka Wish, which helps local families in need.

The girls said they learned about the foundation through their involvement at Interact at their school Minooka Community High School, south campus, in Channahon

Creating a one-day thrift store has been a lot of work but worth it, they feel.
Moreno and Frazier only recently started accepting clothing donations and are overwhelmed by people's generosity. They have a large amount of clothes to giveaway and family and friends have helped them sort and fold.

"When we go thrift shopping, I feel really good wearing the items to school," Moreno said. "Even though they are not new, they are new to us. It's a good feeling and we wanted to make other people feel good."

Moreno and Frazier felt Minooka Intermediate School would make a good location for the collection. The girls had met when they were attended the school and they felt the school community would support them.

So they talked to the school's principal Jeana Pekol, who loved the idea.

"They came to us this summer with a whole presentation they put together for me and my assistant principals," Pekol said. "Then we talked about how best to support their goals. We're excited."

Pekol said Minooka Intermediate School has a club called Good Vibe Tribe. The club volunteers at nursing homes, conducts food drives and collects money for soldiers.

"We thought this fit in perfectly with that," Pekol said.
Pekol also liked the girls' sincerity in organizing the event.

"They're good kids," Pekol said. "They wet though our school district, and we thought their project was important. It could help people in our school and our community, as well."

They now needed a location to hold the actual store. A few people suggested St. Mary's Catholic Church in Minooka.

O'Hagen, too, thought the Pop-Up Thrift Store could benefit the community. So O'Hagen talked to ,Rev. Tuan Van Nguyen, St. Mary's pastor, about the possibility of the girls using the church's new parish center to host their event.

In fact, O'Hagen has even invited a family who recently lost their home in a fire and she knows representatives from a local nonprofit are planning to attend, too. She hopes the event helps many people.

"The project is just amazing," O'Hagen said. "And they have such energy and enthusiasm behind it. I hope it's successful for them."

Moreno and Frazier feel it will be and anticipate quite a bit of teens will attend their Pop-Up Thrift Store, especially teens who aren't old enough for jobs but still like to shop.

"Thrifting has become very popular through social media," Frazier said.
For more photos, visit this story at .theherald-news.com/lifestyle/people.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Pop-Up Thrift Store

WHAT: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 23

WHERE: St. Mary’s Parish Center. 303 W. St. Mary's St. Minooka

ETC: Supporters include Minooka Intermediate School and Divas Salon and Spa. All clothing is free. Donations accepted for Chanooka Wish.
INFORMATION: Email giftingforthrifting@gmail.com